CLEVELAND (AP) -Manu Ginobili made a career-high eight 3-pointers and scored a season-high 46 points as the San Antonio Spurs, back on the floor where they won the NBA title last season, downed the Cleveland Cavaliers 112-105 on Wednesday night.
Hitting shots from every corner of the floor, Ginobili scored 18 points in the fourth quarter, making 4-of-4 3-pointers. The Spurs went 7-of-8 on 3s and shot a blistering 78 percent (14-of-18) in the final 12 minutes.
Even when San Antonio missed, and that wasn’t often, the Spurs outhustled the Cavaliers to loose balls.
Tim Duncan added 23 points and 13 rebounds for the Spurs, who completed their annual rodeo road trip at 6-3.
LeBron James scored 39 points – 18 in the fourth – but Cleveland’s superstar was again no match for the Spurs, who swept the Cavaliers in last June’s finals.
Rockets 89, Kings 87
HOUSTON (AP) – Steve Novak hit a 3-pointer with two seconds left to give Houston its eighth straight win and 17th victory in the last 20 games.
Ron Artest had rallied the Kings back from an 18-point fourth quarter deficit and his off-balance jump shot gave them a 87-86 lead with 24 seconds left.
With Artest all over him, Tracy McGrady drove into the lane and then kicked the ball out to Novak for the winning shot and his only points of the game.
Artest led the Kings with 30 points.
Yao Ming led the Rockets with 25 points and 14 rebounds.
Lakers 117, Timberwolves 92
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – Kobe Bryant scored 29 points, Pau Gasol pitched in another well-rounded game, Lamar Odom had a triple-double, and the Lakers finished their road trip 7-2.
The nine straight games away from home were the longest such string for the Lakers since the NBA went to an 82-game schedule in 1976.
Gasol blocked three shots and finished 9-for-11 from the field. Odom finished with 10 points, 16 rebounds and 10 assists and headed to the bench seconds after getting the last dish he needed for the triple-double.
Al Jefferson had 19 points and nine rebounds for the Timberwolves, who lost their fifth straight game.
Pistons 96, Pacers 80
AUBURN HILLS, Mich. (AP) – Chauncey Billups, Tayshaun Prince and Richard Hamilton led a balanced attack with 14 points each and Detroit won its 10th straight game.
Pistons a season sweep of the Pacers, their first since 1984-85.
Ike Diogu led the Pacers with 14 points.
Celtics 111, Knicks 103
BOSTON (AP) – Paul Pierce scored 24 points, and his newly minted All-Star teammate Ray Allen added 21 to help Boston head into the break with a five-game winning streak.
Leon Powe and Rajon Rondo had 18 points apiece, and sub James Posey had 11 rebounds for Boston. Already without Kevin Garnett, who missed his ninth consecutive game with an abdominal strain, the Celtics lost forwards Brian Scalabrine to a groin pull and Glen “Big Baby” Davis to a quadriceps injury in the first half.
Jamal Crawford scored 26 points for New York, and Zach Randolph had 20 points and 13 rebounds in just 26 minutes before fouling out. Knicks coach Isiah Thomas was ejected early in the fourth with two quick technicals.
Warriors 120, Suns 118
OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) – Monta Ellis scored 37 points and Baron Davis made three straight baskets down the stretch to send Golden State into the All-Star break with a win against the Western Conference’s top team.
Amare Stoudemire led Phoenix with 29 points, but missed one of two free throws with 3.5 seconds left and the Suns down by two points.
Ellis made one of two free throws with 2.7 seconds to go for the Warriors and Leandro Barbosa’s 3-point attempt before the buzzer bounced off the front rim.
Davis had 27 points and 13 assists.
Magic 109, Nuggets 98
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) – Rashard Lewis scored 25 and Dwight Howard had 23 points and 24 rebounds as Orlando beat Denver.
Carmelo Anthony had 32 points for Denver before fouling out late in the fourth quarter, and Allen Iverson had 21 points and seven assists.
It was Howard’s sixth 20-point, 20-rebound game of the season, and came one game after coach Stan Van Gundy accused him of focusing too much on offense. The Magic center had just ceded the NBA rebound lead to Denver’s Marcus Camby, and seemed eager to prove himself.
Howard had a double-double by halftime and Camby finished with six points and eight rebounds.
Mavericks 96, Trail Blazers 76
DALLAS (AP) – Dirk Nowitzki scored a season-high 37 points and Jason Terry added 24, helping the Dallas put aside talk of whether Jason Kidd is about to become their teammate.
The Kidd trade hit a snag because Dallas’ Devean George opted out of it.
George started because of an injury to Josh Howard – and went 0-for-11. He had no points, four rebounds and two assists in 33 minutes.
Brandon Roy scored 25 points for Portland, which goes into the All-Star break having lost four straight and six of eight. Still, the Trail Blazers may use their down time over the next week to savor going 28-24 so far after winning only 32 games all last season.
Raptors 109, Nets 91
TORONTO (AP) – Chris Bosh had 27 points, Jose Calderon had 22 points and 12 assists and Toronto beat New Jersey, which was playing without Jason Kidd.
The Nets seemed on the verge of a blockbuster trade that would send Kidd to Dallas, and the All-Star point guard was not around for this game.
Jamario Moon finished with 15 points and Andrea Bargnani added 14 as Toronto snapped a three-game home losing streak.
Richard Jefferson and Vince Carter each had 15 and Darrell Armstrong and Stromile Swift both had 12 for the Nets, whose three-game winning streak came to an end.
Jazz 112, SuperSonics 93
SEATTLE (AP) – Carlos Boozer had 22 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists for his first triple-double as Utah soared into the All-Star break.
Mehmet Okur scored 20 points and Deron Williams added 17 for the Northwest Division-leading Jazz, who won for the 12th time in 13 games.
Rookie Kevin Durant scored 19 points and Earl Watson had seven points with a season-high 14 assists for the Sonics, who lost for the third time in seven games following a team-record 14-game losing streak.
76ers 102, Grizzlies 88
29 points, eight rebounds and eight assists as Philadelphia won its fifth straight and completed a perfect homestand before the All-Star break.
Samuel Dalembert added 16 points and 12 rebounds and Andre Miller had 14 points and 11 assists for the Sixers.
Hakim Warrick and Rudy Gay scored 23 points each for the Grizzlies (14-38), who dropped their ninth straight road game.
Bobcats 100, Hawks 98
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) – Jeff McInnis’ hook shot with 51.4 seconds left in overtime gave Charlotte a victory over Atlanta.
Raymond Felton scored 22 points and Emeka Okafor had 20 points and 22 rebounds for the Bobcats, who overcame a 14-point deficit in the second half to snap a seven-game losing streak.
Joe Johnson scored 23 points to lead the Hawks, who entered the All-Star break with four consecutive losses.
Hornets 111, Bucks 107
MILWAUKEE (AP) – Peja Stojakovic hit a 3-pointer with 15 seconds left and All-Stars David West and Chris Paul combined for 43 points for New Orleans.
In a prelude to the first All-Star game in New Orleans, the Hornets and Bucks put on an offensive show with both teams shooting over 50 percent and the Hornets making it dramatic at the end.
But Stojakovic and Paul, who finished with 21 points, bailed out New Orleans, which had a seven-point lead with 3:50 left.
The Bucks, losers of seven of their last eight, came back and took their first lead in over seven minutes when rookie Yi Jianlian, who had 13 points, hit a 16-footer with 28 seconds to play to make it 107-106.
Wizards 91, Clippers 89
LOS ANGELES (AP) – Antawn Jamison scored 29 points and tipped in a missed shot by Antonio Daniels with three-tenths of a second left, giving Washington a victory over the Los Angeles Clippers and snapping the Wizards’ eight-game losing streak.
Daniels finished with nine points, eight rebounds and seven assists in 46 minutes after missing two games because of bone spurs in his right ankle.
After going 3-4 on their longest road trip of the season, the Clippers kicked off a six-game homestand by shooting 48.5 percent from the field in their last game before the All-Star break. Rookie Al Thornton led Los Angeles with 24 points and nine rebounds, and Corey Maggette added 20 points.
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